Improvement in temporary shoes for horses



WILLIAM HfH-ALSEY.

Improvement in Temporary Shoes for Horses.

Noi 5,311. Patented May 30,1871.

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PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM HUDSON HALSEY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELEAND THEODORE F. TAYLOR, OF SAME PLACE.

' IMPROVEMENT IN TEMPORARY SHOES FOR HORSES.

I, WILLIAM HUDSON HALSEY, of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a Temporary Shoe for Horses, of which the following is a specification:

Nature and Object of the Invention.

Description of the Accompanying Drawing.

Figure l is a side view of the shoe as it appears .when attached to a horses hoof, and Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the same detached from the hoof.

General Description.

Y Horses are frequently inj ured or lamed by traveling upon hard roads after having'accidentally lost a shoe, and various devices have been planned for temporarily covering and protecting the hoof from which a shoe has been thus lost, the most efi'ective of which is the ordinary leather boot. The latter is generally iron shpd, and is fitted over and fast ened to the hoof in any suitable manner, and so long as it can be kept dry, and'when fitted accurately to and prevented from slipping upon the hoof, it answers the purpose well, although presenting a somewhat clumsy appearance. i

The great objection to the leather boot, however, is its liability to becomestiff, and

unpliable, and twisted out of shape, after having been worn in wet weather and afterward dried, it being, under such circumstances, a matter of difficulty to fit the boot to the hoof.

. Another objection is thatthe boot can only be worn by the horse for which it is made, as, unless it fits tightly tothe hoof, it will slip upon and injurethe latter, thus defeating the very object for which it is intended.

Sometimes a series of straps sewed orriveted' together is substituted for the leather shoe, .but the sewing or riveting is expensive,

and the straps are liable to give way at the points where they are connected.

My invention is free from all the above objections. It consists of a metal plate, A, re-

sembling in shame horseshoe, except that its ends areconnected together by a cross-piece,

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 115,311, dated May 30, 1871; antedated May 19, 1871.

and having on its under side low heel and toe calks a a and a. The upper side of the plate upon which the hoof rests is perfectly fiat, and has at each side a projection or lug, b, and at the tee a similar projection or lug, 0. These lugs prevent the plate from slipping upon the hoof, as they may be bent inward until brought in contact with the latter; and they serve also as convenient points to which to attach the straps by which the plate is fastened to the hoof.

The arrangement of these straps, or rather strap-for but a single piece is used-is as follows: A broad strap or band of leather, B, suitably crimped or otherwise adapted to the shape of the rear upper portion of the hoof or fetlock, is so fitted to the latter that it will not be liable to slip downward, and the ends a of this band are split or cut so as to form tongues or straps d d. and e e, which pass around and over the front portion of the hoof. The straps d and d pass through loops f, hinged or otherwise attached to the side projections b of the plate A, and are buckled together across thefront of the hoof, while the straps or tongues e and 0 pass around the hoof and over the straps d, and are buckled to a forked strap, h, which is hung to the projection or lug c at the front end of the plate A.

This method of fastening holds the plate firmly to the hoof, and at the same time enables the plate to be adapted to hoofs of different sizes, a result which cannot .be obtained when straps arranged in the ordinary manner are used. The lugs 11 and c of the plate must, however, in every case, be bent inward or outward until properly fitted to the hoof, in order to prevent slipping upon the latter.

Claim.

The combination of the plate A and the band-B, consisting of a stripof leather fitted to the rear of the hoof, and cut to form tongues c d, which are buckled together, crossed, and connected to the front and sides of the shoe, as specified.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification before two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM H. HALSEY. Witnesses WM. A. STEEL,

F. B. RICHARDS. 

